A Day in the Life of a Food Truck
Restaurants on wheels have been cooking up some of the country's most exotic food, and we weren't about to miss out. From gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches in Los Angeles to out of this world Austrian cuisine in New York, we're hitting the road to get our hands on some of the best eats from around the streets. Come along for the ride when the all new show Eat St. premieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
But since life on the streets ain't no walk in the park, we made sure to check in with one of tonight's featured food trucks to learn a bit more. Oleg Voss of NYC's Schnitzel & Things gave us the low down on what it's like to spend a day in the life of a food truck.
Before the sun goes up, Oleg's alarm clock rings him out of sleep. It's 5:00am, and almost time to start prepping! On the menu for the day? 140 pieces of chicken, 100 pieces of pork, 50 pieces of veal, 10 pounds of cod, and 10 burger patties. In order to prepare all the proteins for their eventual breading and frying, each piece must be smashed paper thin.
While Oleg and his crew prep the proteins along with the salads, condiments, sides and other accoutrements, the truck is picked up from the depot in Brooklyn. From there, bread is procured at a local bakery, gas for the truck and generator is filled, and the truck arrives at its prep location, the new Schnitzel & Things Restaurant. By the time the truck is loaded and ready to roll out, it's nearly 10:30am.
By 11am, the schnitzel truck arrives at the day's location, and it's time to make the final preparations before the flap goes up and hungry patrons start placing orders. Oleg makes sure the salad station is ready, all the meat is pounded out, the condiment bottles are filled, the propane tanks are turned on for the fryers, and the generator is switched on to power the truck's electricity. In a blink of an eye, it's 11:30am and time to open up shop!
After clean up, what's left is just wrapping up the leftover meats and salads, and and putting them away in the fridge. Oleg has been running the truck for two years, and learned how much to purchase so that each day's food can be bought fresh. After covering the fryers and closing up the truck, it's taken back to the restaurant to unload the little that's left.
By the time the Schnitzel & Things truck is dropped off at the depot in Brooklyn, it's nearly 5pm. Twelve hours of rest, then it all starts up again!
Don't miss out on the premier of Cooking Channel's all new show Eat St. tonight at 8 p.m. ET.
